According to the 2000 NAEP assessments, only 32 percent of 4th
graders are proficient in reading, while a dismal 26 percent are
proficient in mathematics, 29 percent in science, and 18 percent in
history. Proficiency rates decline by the 12th grade in most
subjects. Over half of all poor students fail to reach the basic
level on NAEP assessments in most subjects.[1]

In the 1999-2000 school year, the pubpil/teacher ratio was 16 to 1. The average class size was 22 students[2]

Degree
Attainment

In 1998, 71 percent of students graduated
on-time from high school. Just over half of minority students
graduated. Georgia had the lowest graduation rate at 54 percent and
Iowa the highest at 93 percent. Roughly 9 percent of dropouts
earned a General Educational Development (GED) credential or
equivalent.[3] In 2000, 66 percent of
adults with a diploma or GED aged 25-19 had some college
experience. One-third had completed a bachelor's degree or
higher.[4]

Enrollment

Approximately 47 million children attend
public elementary and secondary schools. 5.9 million attend private
schools.[5] As many as 1.9 million
children are home schooled.[6]

As of the 2000 school year, there were 92,012
public elementary and secondary schools and 27,223 private
elementary and secondary schools.[7]

Expenditures

Over the past 30 years, average per-pupil
expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools have
nearly doubled, rising from $3,367 in 1970 to $6,584 in 2000 in
constant dollars.[8]

The average private school tuition nationwide,
according to a 1996 Cato Institute study, was $3,116, with 67
percent of all private elementary and secondary schools
charging $2,500 or less.[9]

Total K-12 federal, state, and local spending
for Education, both public and private, climbed to over $420
billion for the 2000-2001 school year.[10]

Source: U.S. Department of Education,
National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of State
School Systems; Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary
School Systems; Statistics of Nonpublic Secondary Schools;
Statistics of Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Schools; Revenues
and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education;
Fall Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education; Financial
Statistics of Institutions of Higher Education; Common Core of
Data surveys; and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
surveys.

Federal Funding

In 2001, taxpayers spent an estimated $92.8
billion on Education at the federal level, of which about 40
percent went through the Department of Education. The Departments
of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Labor, Defense, and
Energy also spent large amounts of money.[11]

$48 billion went to elementary and secondary
school programs. Just under half of this amount was spent on
programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child
Left Behind Act), as well as special Education and vocational
education.[12]

Higher
Education

Half of undergraduates receive financial
aid.[13] More women than men earn
associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. In 1999-2000, the
total cost of tuition and room and board
was estimated to be $7,302 at public colleges and $20,277 at
private colleges.[14]

All public post-secondary 2-year institutions,
81 percent of public 4-year institutions, and 63 percent of private
4-year institutions offer remedial courses in reading, writing, or
mathematics.[15]

International
Comparisons

Despite higher than average per-pupil
expenditures, American 8th graders ranked 19th out of 38 countries
on the most recent international mathematics comparison, the Third
International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R) of
1999. American students scored 18th out of 38 countries in
science.[16] On the TIMSS 1995 study,
which tested 12th graders, American students were ranked 19th out
of 21 countries in both math and science general knowledge.[17]

Over half of all public schools reported a
criminal incident to the police. Incidents ranged from fistfights,
theft, or vandalism to serious violent crimes. 10 percent of
schools reported serious violent crimes.[21]

In 1999-2000, 13
percent of public school children were enrolled in special
Education, of which nearly half were considered
learning-disabled.[22] Over the past
decade, the number of students with disabilities served in regular
classrooms has increased.[23]

The average public school has 110 computers;
98 percent of public schools have access to the Internet.[26] The number of computers in
public schools increased from a ratio of over 63 students for every
computer in 1985 to less than five per computer in 2000.[27]

[16] 1999 Third International
Math and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R). See TIMSS 1999
International Mathematics Report, International Study Center, Lynch
School of Education, Boston College, December 2000, p. 32.

[17] See TIMSS Highlights from
the Final Year of Secondary School, International Study Center,
Lynch School of Education, Boston College, February 1998, p. 1.